TRIBUTE TO THE POLICE

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 69, 23 March 1931, Page 8

TRIBUTE TO THE POLICE

(To the Editor.)

' Sir,—On"the eve of my return to _ Wellington from the devastated area, it is my wish to place on record appreciation o£ a splendid body of men whom we, as civilians, are only too apt to take for granted. I refer to the rank and file of tho New Zealand police. In normal times the citizens are so familiar with the uniform and the fact that our constabulary function and carry out their various duties day and night, in sunshine and storm, and year after year, that frhen a disaster occurs we often lose all sense of proportion, and in apportioning praise or blame our sense of values, if not completely destroyed, is at least^ seriously impaired. . , I most heartily endorse the,splendid testimony of the Mayor of Hastings to the Hawkes Bay police some weeks ago. Has adequate recognition been given to these officers who so-.successfully carried out their duties in such an unassuming yet efficient manner; who right through the turmoil and havoc caused by the earthquake never once deviated from that high standard of. discipline and Bumanity with which the New Zealand police have so long been identified? Unstinted praise is surely due to that band in Napier wbo weelk. after week under most distressing and often gruesome conditions,' displayed a wonderful spirit of' self-sacrifice and uncomplaining zeal over a prolonged period, under in many cases dangerously weakened and tottering walls. The untiring work of these searchers among the ruins for the remains of the dead and missing is worthy of the highest praise. This work did much to counteract that feeling of utter helplessness and dispair which temporarily paralysed and unnerved an overwhelmed community. , Without fuss, limelight, or blowing of trumpets they steadily did their duty and more. It was my privilege to work with Sub-Inspector Lopdell and his able assistant, Officer Anson, and I can bear witness to the constant and unfailing sympathy and tact with which these officers under trying circumstances received ,all bereaved inquirers. To their ability the success of the Identification Department is due, often in spite of well-nigh insurmountable difficulties. Finally, writing of the men of the Police Department as a whole from the head down, it has been constantly impressed upon me, as a civilian, that it is the' fixed opinion of the general public of Napier that the constabulary are not merely their guardians, but their best friends.—l am, etc., A. DRUMMOND DUTHIE. Napier, 17th March.